In Proverbs 4:7 the exhortation is “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding.” If wisdom is the “principle thing,” it is the first thing, the head of all things, the root of all things, and really the only thing worth getting.
Better to have wisdom than any other thing!
The first thing you need to make a wise decision is knowledge.
The reason the fool goes wrong is that he does not take the time to acquire the necessary knowledge to assess the situation. Obviously, if you do not have the knowledge, you cannot make a wise decision, because you cannot apply and adapt knowledge that you do not have! The foolish person is often impetuous and impatient—he does not wait to find out knowledge, or he does not ask advice of others, or, if he does ask advice, he rarely takes good advice.
The book of Proverbs is devoted to one great subject—wisdom.
Listen to the words of Proverbs 4:5, “Get wisdom, get understanding…” or Proverbs 4:7, “Wisdom is the principal thing: therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.”
If wisdom in God is the application and adaptation of all things to the goal of his own glory, then wisdom in us is the application, use and, adaptation of all things to the goal of God’s glory.
That is why we read in Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” and in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Without the fear of God, which is a godly reverence for him in which we avoid sin and seek his glory, we are, and will behave as, the greatest fools!
TODAY from 4-6pm EST, Rev. McGeown will be interviewed by Chris Arnzen on his radio program Iron Sharpens Iron.
The subject will be Rev. McGeown's recent book, Grace and Assurance: The Message of the Canons of Dordt.
Visit www.ironsharpensironradio.com and click on the livestream box to tune in and listen from any device. The program can also be listened to by phone at (563)999-9206; press #3 for Christian Radio when prompted.
Be sure to tune in later today!
John adds a warning and an incentive. The warning is: “and the world passeth away and the lust thereof” (v. 17). The things of the world are temporary, fleeting, and have no lasting value. The world offers pleasure, power, and the fulfillment of the lusts of the flesh, but one day these things will come to an end. There will come a time when you will not be able to enjoy them. However, it is almost impossible to convince a person infatuated with the world that this is the case. A worldly person lives for the moment, especially for the weekend, and it takes a miracle of grace to wrest his heart away from the world.
But by “passeth away” John means more than to underline the world’s temporary nature. These things pass away because they will be destroyed in the judgment. The worldly person will stand before God. The music will be silent, the sensual pleasure will be over, worldly friends will be gone and he will be sober. Then he must give an account to the Almighty: “I exchanged my Creator for the fleeting pleasures of creation. I had no love for God in my heart. The world was my god.” And if the worldly person has only his love for the world he will stand naked before God, stripped of everything except his sins, and will be condemned.
